Jiang Yi, with his face streaked with tears, sniffled and sobbed, looking confused. “Huh?”

His voice was thick with emotion as he choked out, “Didn’t Arno have leukemia?”

He knew how painful it was to be sick.

Every day was spent in the hospital room, with needles in his hand that he couldn’t move, receiving endless IV drips and taking countless medications.

Jiang Yi had grown up in a hospital room that always smelled of disinfectant. He didn’t want Arno to suffer like he did, and even more so, he didn’t want Arno to die.

The butler smiled and reassured him, “Young Master is fine. Bleeding while losing teeth is perfectly normal.”

After heading downstairs to fetch the first aid kit, Lu Ting, who had also been summoned, found the situation amusing. He explained to the two children what it meant to lose teeth. As soon as he finished, he saw the two kids, both with teary eyes, hugging each other and whispering as if they had just survived a life-threatening disaster.

Ten minutes later, after the butler carefully put down the cotton swab, he reminded Arno not to lick the part of his gums where the tooth had fallen out. Then, he and the others left the room.

Still worried, Jiang Yi climbed onto the couch, pulling open Arno’s mouth to inspect it repeatedly. Only when he confirmed that Arno was truly fine did he finally let go.

Arno, meanwhile, clung tightly to Jiang Yi, resting his head on his shoulder, reluctant to let go. He thought to himself that if he hadn’t “almost died,” Jiang Yi probably wouldn’t have even bothered with him.

Jiang Yi asked Arno why his tooth had fallen out so suddenly. Arno stayed silent, merely muttering something quietly while nestled on Jiang Yi’s shoulder.

There was no way Arno was going to tell Jiang Yi that for the past few days, he’d been stuffing his pockets with cookies. Since he couldn’t share them with Jiang Yi, he had been secretly eating them himself every night.

Every night, Arno would munch on the cookies, fuming in anger. He felt aggrieved, thinking about how he had fed Jiang Yi for so long, yet Jiang Yi was now ignoring him because of that curly-haired boy who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He and Jiang Yi had only known that curly-haired boy, Ying Zhuohan, for a few days. Had Ying Zhuohan ever slept in the same bed with Jiang Yi like he had?

Clearly, their relationship had been the best, but now they were in a cold war because of Ying Zhuohan.

The more Arno thought about it, the angrier he got. He chomped down on his cookies harder and harder, the crunch of the cookies echoing in his mouth.

But who could have guessed that as he was biting down, his tooth would suddenly snap off, along with the cookie?

The sight of Arno’s mouth full of blood had completely frightened Jiang Yi, who instantly forgot all about their cold war. All Jiang Yi could think was how grateful he was that Arno had only lost a tooth and wasn’t suffering from a serious illness.

Looking at the bloodstains on Arno’s collar, Jiang Yi sat on the couch, sniffling. Still uneasy, he hesitated and asked, “Can we sleep together tonight?”

He was afraid that Arno might start bleeding again during the night.

Arno, of course, was thrilled at the idea of Jiang Yi sleeping with him every night. Upon hearing the suggestion, he was so excited that he rushed downstairs to tell Jiang Yi’s father about it.

Later that night, around 9 p.m., Jiang Yi was in the bathroom taking a bath. Meanwhile, Arno was lying in bed, thrilled. He licked the gap in his teeth, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction. He thought to himself how perfectly timed the loss of his tooth had been—if it hadn’t fallen out, Jiang Yi might still be ignoring him.

Now, Jiang Yi was being so kind to him.

Afraid that he might die at any moment, Jiang Yi spoke to him gently, and all his attention was focused on him. Tonight, Jiang Yi was even going to bring his little pillow and sleep by his side.

Arno tossed his fallen tooth into the air, cheerfully exclaiming, “What a great tooth, what a great tooth!”

This tooth was the best thing ever! He even wished he could lose a few more teeth, just to defeat Ying Zhuohan!

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Jiang Yi was washing himself and, with teary eyes, prayed to the little rubber duck floating in the water, hoping that Arno’s teeth wouldn’t fall out again. If he lost any more teeth and bled that much again, it might be fatal.

After a while, Jiang Yi, now finished with his bath, climbed into bed. He immediately reached out to inspect Arno’s mouth, and Arno obediently opened wide to let him look.

Seeing that there was no more blood, Jiang Yi finally relaxed.

Arno, on the other hand, licked the gap where his tooth had been—it felt a little itchy.

Looking at Jiang Yi’s gentle profile under the soft glow of the lamp, Arno couldn’t resist. He grabbed Jiang Yi’s pale wrist and playfully bit down, grinding his sharp little canine teeth against his skin.

Jiang Yi frowned, thinking to himself that Arno really needed to break this bad habit.

After Arno finally let go, Jiang Yi glanced at the bite mark on his wrist and widened his eyes in surprise. He pouted.

After a while, Jiang Yi looked seriously at Arno and said, “You can’t bite me anymore.”

Arno licked his canine teeth and asked, “Why not?”

Jiang Yi, a little upset, lifted his wrist to show him the bite mark. “The tooth mark isn’t complete—it’s missing a corner. I don’t like it. It bothers me.”

Arno blinked, then looked closely at Jiang Yi’s wrist. Sure enough, the bite mark was incomplete, missing a spot where his lost tooth used to be.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Arno offered, “Should I bite you again to complete it?”

Jiang Yi pouted even more, “No, just don’t bite anymore.”

Arno nodded obediently.

When the lights went out and it was time to sleep, Arno pulled the blanket over himself and snuck a peek at Jiang Yi’s sleeping face. His hand was curled up against his cheek, looking adorable. Unable to resist, Arno leaned over and gave Jiang Yi a light kiss on the cheek with his little sharp tooth grazing the skin.

Jiang Yi said no biting, and he hadn’t bitten—he’d only given him the gentlest of kisses.

Satisfied, Arno lay back down, grinning happily. If only he could lose a tooth every day, then Jiang Yi would be afraid of him dying and would sleep with him every night.

---

The next day.

Ying Zhuohan noticed that Jiang Yi had reconciled with that fierce-looking kid, Arno, after their four-day cold war.

This development made him feel both wary and annoyed.

He had been counting on Jiang Yi to be his number one sidekick. Now that the two had made up, Arno would definitely compete with him for Jiang Yi’s loyalty.

Over the past few days, Ying Zhuohan had been very satisfied with Jiang Yi as his little sidekick. Jiang Yi was adorable, with a soft, sweet voice, like a little sugar cake, and very smart—whatever the teacher explained, he understood immediately.

Ying Zhuohan would borrow Jiang Yi’s homework to “reference,” and Jiang Yi would always agree.

Content, Ying Zhuohan thought that Jiang Yi’s only flaw was being friends with the fierce Arno.

But soon, Jiang Yi’s flaw list grew by one more.

It started when Ying Zhuohan, as usual, asked Jiang Yi for his homework to “reference.”

Though he called it a reference, Ying Zhuohan actually just copied it all down to finish his homework for the night.

Jiang Yi, unaware of this, earnestly handed over his homework.

Just as Ying Zhuohan was about to take it, Arno intercepted. He grabbed Jiang Yi’s homework and stuffed it into his own backpack.

Infuriated, Ying Zhuohan was about to curse him out when Arno coolly said to Jiang Yi, “Don’t give it to him.”

“He copies your homework every day.”

Jiang Yi’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly taken aback.

Arno continued calmly, fanning the flames even more. “You shouldn’t give it to him in the future either. The teacher said that copying homework is a bad habit.”

“If we keep letting him copy, we’re just encouraging him, and we’re only hurting him.”

“If he doesn’t learn anything now, in the future, he won’t be able to get a job and will end up picking up trash on the streets.”

Jiang Yi was startled. Hugging his backpack tightly, he clutched his remaining homework as if it were his life.

Ying Zhuohan, furious, yelled, “You’ll be the one picking up trash when you grow up! Your whole family will!”

Jiang Yi, with a serious expression, responded, “Not studying really will lead to picking up trash.”

Ying Zhuohan was at a loss for words. Looking at Jiang Yi’s innocent face, he couldn’t bring himself to say, “You’ll be picking up trash when you grow up,” so instead, he directed his anger at Arno, cursing him to pick up trash.

Arno, completely unbothered, stared lazily at Ying Zhuohan, tuning him out.

With the end of the school day approaching, Ying Zhuohan grew anxious. His other lackeys weren’t as bright as Jiang Yi and never finished their homework before school ended.

He wasn’t good at doing homework on his own, and if he had his lackeys copy it, their handwriting would be too obvious. Plus, there was no time to copy homework in the morning since the teacher would check it.

In desperation, Ying Zhuohan pleaded, “Don’t listen to him. I just need it for reference.”

Jiang Yi shook his head. “No, if you don’t understand something, you can ask me, but you can’t just copy my homework.”

Ying Zhuohan, who was used to getting his way, had never been scolded like this. His mother wasn’t around, and his father was always busy with work. Feeling both frustrated and humiliated, he lashed out, “I’ll copy if I want! It’s none of your business! Mind your own!”

Arno’s expression darkened. Jiang Yi, hugging his backpack, calmly replied, “Oh. Then I won’t be giving you my homework anymore.”

Ying Zhuohan panicked, blurting out, “No!”

Without Jiang Yi’s homework, how could he enjoy his video games at home in peace?

Thinking quickly, he threatened, “Fine, you can teach me! But let me tell you, even if school ends, you have to teach me. Don’t regret it later!”

He planned to drag Jiang Yi into staying late after school, making him tutor until Jiang Yi gave up in exhaustion.

Jiang Yi nodded, and Ying Zhuohan immediately dumped a pile of homework on the table, declaring that he didn’t know how to do any of it.

Arno, expressionless, was tempted to toss Ying Zhuohan’s homework into the trash. But recalling their awkward three-day cold war, he restrained himself.

Half an hour later…

Ying Zhuohan was barely keeping his eyes open as Jiang Yi, diligently tapping the numbers on his paper with a pencil, urged him to study hard so he wouldn’t have to pick up trash in the future.

Ying Zhuohan, already tired of it, scoffed, saying he wouldn’t end up picking up trash. His family had plenty of money, and no one cared what he did.

Jiang Yi paused, lifting his head to give Ying Zhuohan a meaningful look.

Caught off guard by the intensity of Jiang Yi’s gaze, Ying Zhuohan was stunned, unable to react for a long moment.

No one had ever looked at him like that—not with pity, nor with fake admiration. It was an expression he couldn’t quite understand.

Before he knew it, Ying Zhuohan had picked up his pen and started doing his homework.

Soon, most of his homework was finished. Arno quickly packed up Jiang Yi’s backpack, eager to leave the annoying little brat behind.

As they were about to leave, Ying Zhuohan suddenly remembered that it was his turn for cleaning duty. But when he looked around, his little sidekick had already gone home, leaving the trash can full.

He could only helplessly look at Jiang Yi.

Arno’s face darkened. There was no way he’d let Jiang Yi take out the trash, so he reluctantly held his nose and helped Ying Zhuohan carry the trash can to the garbage area.

By dusk, the schoolyard was still full of after-school activities. As the two raced toward the garbage area, they walked quickly, carrying the trash can as if fleeing. But neither could get along—one rushed ahead, the other lagged behind. Eventually, Ying Zhuohan crashed into another student.

To make matters worse, that student happened to be one of his old “rivals.”

Both were little bullies, constantly fighting and competing. They had tangled more times than they could count. Luckily, in elementary school, they were placed in different classes.

Surrounded by trees near the garbage pit, the other student, with a group of lackeys behind him, mocked Ying Zhuohan for his sorry state—taking out the trash by himself with no followers to help.

Ying Zhuohan didn’t want to cause trouble, but the student was determined to provoke him, going so far as to mock his mother’s absence.

Ying Zhuohan’s parents had divorced long ago, and this was always a sensitive topic for him. No one dared mention it in front of him. Hearing it now, he immediately lost his temper and lunged forward, fists flying.

Arno, having dropped the trash can, saw the curly-haired boy rush into the fight. He couldn’t be bothered to intervene and started walking back to the classroom to find Jiang Yi.

But after hearing one particularly harsh insult, Arno’s face darkened. He turned back, kicked the trash can aside, and joined the brawl.

Ten minutes later…

Ying Zhuohan crouched on the ground, bruised and angry. Without his usual lackeys, he had taken a harder beating than usual. His eyes were red with frustration, and Arno stood nearby, shaking off the dust from his clothes.

Ying Zhuohan asked Arno why he had helped him.

Arno replied coolly, “I hate it when people say stuff about kids with no moms.”

Ying Zhuohan froze, then asked, “Are you one of those kids without a mom?”

Arno, expressionless, answered, “No.”

Ying Zhuohan suddenly realized who the “kid without a mom” was and thought of Jiang Yi. He couldn’t believe someone as gentle as Jiang Yi could be a child without a mother.

But the more he thought about it, the more his eyes filled with tears. He burst out crying, tears streaming down his face.

Arno, thoroughly annoyed, wished Ying Zhuohan would hurry up and leave.

Through his sobs, Ying Zhuohan clung to Arno’s shirt, wailing, “Jiang Yi and I are both kids without moms—we’re meant to be together! You have a mom, so you won’t ever understand.”

Arno: “…”

He glanced at the trash can that had been kicked two meters away and, for the first time, seriously considered shoving himself into it.